With shuttle’s end, firms seek direction

With shuttle’s end, firms seek direction

HARTFORD, Conn.

Less than a year after NASA ended its shuttle program, players in America’s space business are casting around for new direction.

United Technologies Corp. is the most recent company to announce it will scale back its role in space exploration. The Hartford conglomerate announced in mid-March it is selling Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, to help raise $3 billion to finance the purchase of aerospace parts maker Goodrich Corp.

Greg Hayes, chief financial officer at United Technologies, says that without a national space policy, growth will be limited at Rocketdyne.

Other companies have shifted business from space exploration while high-profile space travel becomes a commercial venture, including plans by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. to launch a capsule to the space station and a group of wealthy backers hoping to mine asteroids.

Pall Corp. to sell some assets

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.

Filtration equipment manufacturer Pall Corp. says it has agreed to sell certain operations and equipment used in blood transfusions to health-care company Haemonetics Corp. for $550 million.

The deal announced Sunday calls for Haemonetics to receive blood collection, filtration and processing systems and equipment, along with manufacturing facilities in California, Mexico and Italy from Pall.

Some of Pall’s assets in Puerto Rico also are included.

About 1,300 Pall employees will be transferred to Haemonetics as part of the deal.

Pall expects to record an after-tax gain of $230 million to $240 million, or $1.95 a share to $2.04 a share on the sale.

The deal is expected to close at the start of Pall’s 2013 fiscal year in August.